Cheesy Creamed Leeks

Cheesy Creamed Leeks with their mellow oniony flavor and rich cheddar cream sauce are wonderful as a main dish or side. 

If you are serving this as a main dish, all you need to complete the meal is a lightly dressed green salad with perhaps some crusty bread for sopping up the last creamy, cheesy drops. As a side, cheesy creamed leeks go well with fish or pan-fried chicken breasts. They would even make a great filling for a baked potato or topping for pasta. 

Truly versatile and so delicious, I believe that the leek is underrated as a vegetable, at least on the US side of the pond. It’s much appreciated in Great Britain though and it’s even a national emblem in Wales. If you ever watch Welsh rugby on television, you can’t miss all the fans sporting leek hats, which I find ever so amusing. The ones dressed as daffodils are equally as funny but that’s a story for another day. 

Cheesy Creamed Leeks

This recipe is adapted from one in the Waitrose & Partners Food magazine from March 2019. I used less wine but more cream and four times the cheese. I stand by all of those decisions. It will serve three as a main dish with other sides as suggested above or six as a side dish. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs or 700g whole leeks

1 tablespoon butter

1/3 cup or 80ml dry white wine

1/2 cup or 120ml whipping cream

3 1/2 oz or 100g mature cheddar, grated

2 teaspoons whole grain mustard

Method

Wash the leeks thoroughly, making sure to get any dirt out from between the layers. 

Cut off the root end and the hard part of the green bits and discard (or freeze them to use when you are making vegetable stock.) Thinly slice the tender green and white parts. 

Sauté the leeks in the butter in a large pan over a low heat, covered, for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  

Once the leeks have softened, add the wine and turn up the heat. 

Cook until the wine has almost completely evaporated then pour in the whipping cream and add the mustard. Stir well. 

Cook for a couple minutes then add in 3/4 of the cheese and stir well to combine. 

Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top of the dish. 

Put it under the broiler/grill on high for a few minutes, keeping a close eye on it, until it’s bubbling and golden brown in spots. 

Enjoy!

It’s the first Wednesday of the month so that means it’s time for our Foodie Extravaganza party. Today it’s National Whipping Cream Day so we are celebrating by sharing recipes with whipping cream. Check them out below. Many thanks to our host, Sneha of Sneha’s Recipe. 

• Cheesy Creamed Leeks from Food Lust People Love
• Chocolate Truffle Cakes with Cappuccino Whipped Cream from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Havarti, Egg & Dill Breakfast Quiche from Palatable Pastime
• Oven-Baked Au Gratin Potatoes in a Pie Dish from Faith, Hope, Love & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Pull Me Up Cake from Sneha’s Recipe
• Raspberry Parfait from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Vintage Icebox Cake from Pandemonium Noshery

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays by cooking and baking together with the same ingredient or theme each month. Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board.

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